Animal Instincts
by Diamondinsanity
Summary: Let's just say every scooby has their own inner animal...
1. Just a Simple Spell

Disclaimers: None of this belongs to me!  
  
Spoilers: None that I can think of... If you know the Dawn's the key, you're cool.  
  
A/N: Angel is Spike's sire. He is also in town helping Buffy with protecting Dawn from Glory. Dawn doesn't know she's the key yet. Spike doesn't have his gross Buffy addiction. Tara does not exist.  
  
Dedication: To my bestest friend Laura! She gave me this idea. She doesn't watch Buffy or read fan fiction about Buffy, but she told me that if I wrote this she'd read it. So therefore, this is for Laura.  
  
*****  
  
The sign in the Magic Box flipped to the side that read: 'Sorry, we're closed.' Passersby always wondered why the shop kept such odd hours but they never complained. The town wasn't oblivious to the strange happenings in the town in the town, they just choose to ignore it. If they knew what really went on inside the shop, they would probably leave the town all together. Today was no exception. The six occupants inside the shop have seen more than most people could handle.  
  
Inside the shop, the six occupants were in various states of nervousness. Rupert Giles stood behind the counter of his shop cleaning his glasses. If you listened closely enough, you could hear various mumblings of "Dear Lord." Anya Jenkins stood at the register counting the money. It always made her feel better. Willow Rosenberg sat on the floor silently meditating her energy for the impending spell. Xander Harris sat at a table stuffing a Twinkie into his mouth. Buffy Summers paced the length of the shop wringing her hands. Spike leaned against the counter deep in his thoughts. To the casual observer he would appear to be bored, but to those who know him well he was brooding. Although he would deny it till his death; brooding is what his sire did. Suddenly Willow's head shot up and her eyes opened. "I'm ready."  
  
Buffy, Giles, Xander, Anya and Spike joined Willow on the floor and formed a circle. Spike sat next to Willow and handed her a white crystal. Xander, on her left, handed her a small bundle of purple flowers. Willow looked across at Giles, then to Anya on his right and Buffy on his left. They all remained silent and looked at Willow expectantly. "Join hands." She was surprised that no body complained. She had warned them to be silent, but she didn't expect Buffy and Spike to hold hands with out throwing a fit. She was very impressed at the maturity both of them were trying to show. She smiled at them both and began to explain the spell.  
  
"The spell will cause a portion of each of our energies to leave our bodies and move to the crystal. It will create a type of protection force field around Dawn. As long as the crystal remains intact, she will be safe." Xander began to open his mouth but Willow shook her head. "Don't say anything, Xander. The spell will be disrupted by the slightest sound. Everyone understand?" She looked around the circle and they all nodded in understanding. "Everyone ready?" Once again she was greeted by five nodding heads. Willow began the spell.  
  
"Illuminisi da nerezza, l'anima lungamente persa, la saggezza oltre gli anni, il cuore che non esita mai ancora, essere umano, amore ristabilito, protegga la nostra alba dallo sconosciuto di nerezza."  
  
A warm glow flowed from each person. A dark blue glow flowed from Xander. From Anya came a golden honey glow. A brown glow that matched his tweed came from Giles. A bright pink flowed from Buffy. Spike's glow was as red as the blood he drinks. Finally an emerald glow came from Willow and the colors intermingled in the center of the circle. The colors mixed to form a dark purple. The colors drifted slowly into the crystal. Just as the crystal began to glow purple from the energies, a voice from outside yelled, "Quit being such an animal!" Suddenly the crystal stopped glowing and the six occupants of the circle collapsed.  
  
*****  
  
Dawn Summers walked through the twilight with the dark, brooding vampire known as Angel. Well, to most people...  
  
"Why are you here, Peaches?" Dawn asked smirking knowing it would piss him off. True to her prediction, he growled loudly, and grabbed her arms stopping her.  
  
"What?" She asked innocently. Angel just continued to glare at her, his eyes flashing gold. "Fine, Spike told me." Angel let go of her and continued down the street. Dawn could hear him mumbling as she ran to catch up with him.  
  
"Stupid childe. All he does is cause trouble. Why'd I even make him?"  
  
Dawn began to giggle, Angel spun around to face her. "What?"  
  
"Nothing. It's just you're acting kind of like Spike."  
  
Angel growled slipping into game face. "I am nothing like him!"  
  
"Fine." Dawn said nervously taking a step backwards. Angel felt bad at getting mad at her, and began to take a step forward to talk to her, but she took a step back. "Uh, Angel, you still have your wrinklies on." She motioned to her face.  
  
"Sorry, Dawn." He said slipping back into his human mask. He moved to talk to her, but Dawn pointed behind him. "We're here." She pointed to the Magic Box and walked inside. Angel shook his head in defeat and followed her inside. Angel followed her inside. "Dawn?" he asked before walking into the dark store. "Dawn, maybe you should come out here."  
  
"Angel, you got to come and see this." Dawn said in amusement and in confusion. Angel walked slowly into the shop and flipped on the light. The sight before him was like nothing he had ever seen before. Clothes were strewn all over the floor. On a chair perched a large owl. Down on the floor next to the owl, lay a large panther. Near the panther was the most beautiful tiger he had ever seen. Near the tiger was a large dog, a golden retriever to be exact. A small bunny was curled up as close to the dog as it could get.  
  
Suddenly Angel saw movement from what he recognized as Spike's leather jacket. A gorgeous blonde kitten poked its head out from under the jacket. Upon seeing Dawn it leapt up and into her arms. Dawn held the kitten and turned to look at Angel who was now on the floor laughing so hard tears were streaming down his face. "Angel, are you okay?" She asked concerned as she gently petted the kitten.  
  
"Dawn." He said between fits of laughter. "Do you have any idea who you're holding right now?"  
  
Dawn looked at him baffled. "What do you mean who?" She raised her eyebrow. 'Wow. She looks like Spike when she does that.' The thought caused Angel to laugh even harder.  
  
"Angel!" Dawn yelled causing the kitten to purr.  
  
"Dawn. That's Spike." Angel said pointing to the kitten.  
  
"What?" Dawn asked letting the kitten fall from her arms.  
  
"They turned themselves into animals."  
  
*****  
  
What do you think? Review! Review!  
  
***** 


	2. Animal Behavior

Confusion washed over Willow as she slowly opened her eyes. Everything was unfocused, and looked different. Chairs and tables seemed to loom over her. Faintly, she could hear purring. Bright light flooded her vision, and she looked towards the ground. A pair of pink and white running shoes stood near the door of the magic box. Near the shoes was a set of legs clad in a dark material. _'Okay, Angel and Dawn. They can help.' _She thought as laughing filtered through the room. _'Dawn! Angel!' _Willow called as she stood and tried to walk over to them. She fell back onto the ground, partly because of the difficulty she was facing when she tried to walk and partly because of the blonde cat that landed in front of her.  
  
_'The calling thing isn't gonna work, Red.'  
  
'Spike?' _Willow asked laughing. _'You're- you're a kitten.'  
  
'You don't bloody well say.' _Spike said dryly as Willow continued to laugh. _'You do realize this is entirely your fault, doncha, love?'  
_  
Willow's eyes widened as she wildly looked around the room_. 'Dog. Bunny. Panther. Owl. Kitten.' _She looked back at Spike. _'This wasn't supposed to happen, we were just supposed to give a portion of our energies to Dawn.' _Willow looked sadly at Spike. _'Why don't any of my spells go right?'_  
  
Kitten Spike slowly shook his head or what would pass for a headshake. _'Love, you just have more power than you realize. That's why I asked you not to do the spell, remember, love?'_  
  
Willow rolled her eyes. _'At least I didn't turn you into a vampire bat.' _She said optimistically.  
  
_'No, you just turned me into a sodding kitten while you're a sodding tiger!' _With that, Spike raised his tail in the air and stalked back to Dawn.  
  
_'Spike, baby, don't be mad.' _Willow called after him.  
  
_'I'm not, love.' _He replied as he leapt back into Dawn's arms. _'The whelp is waking up, and I've seen what dogs do to cats. What vampires do too, but that's not the point, now is it?'_  
  
Willow laughed, but stopped as a thought crossed her mind. Neither she nor Spike had opened their mouths during their entire conversation. They had been speaking telekinetically.

* * *

Dawn glared angrily at Angel, who was still huddled on the floor laughing. The blood tinted tears where still rolling down his cheeks. Dawn jumped as Kitten Spike leapt back into her arms. Sighing, she absently began to stroke Kitten Spike's head, and focused her mind on the task at hand, getting Angel to stop laughing and concentrate long enough to help her figure out how to turn them back. He seemed to find Spike turning into a kitten highly amusing, and Dawn couldn't figure out why. "Angel!" Dawn called. "Angel." After Angel ignored her the second time, she smiled evilly and whispered softly into Spike's ear, "You could probably scratch Angel right now and blame it on the spell." Dawn smiled in success as the kitten leapt out of her arms and began to shred at Angel's pants, every now and then leaving bloody welts when he came in contact with skin.  
  
"God damn it, Spike!" Angel screamed as he kicked out at Spike, who went flying into a wall.  
  
"Angel." Dawn chided as the dark vampire stood up. "And stop growling." She commanded as she began to walk over to the blonde kitten.  
  
"Dawn." Angel said as he reached out and touched her shoulder to stop her. "I'm not growling."  
  
The duo looked over where Spike was in time to see the Golden Retriever begin to charge at Spike. "Angel." Dawn hissed pleadingly. Angel nodded and using his vampiric speed, dove for Spike, gathering the kitten into his arms just as the dog dove to where Spike had been. Angel tried to stand up, but hissed in pain as a pair of sharp teeth embedded themselves into his leg. But as soon as the pain came, it was gone.  
  
Worry and fear etched across Dawn's face as she watched the exchange. However what surprised her most wasn't the dog attacking Angel. It was the tiger, who picked the dog up by the back of the neck and lifted him away from Angel, much like a mother cat would do to its kitten.  
  
"I think we figured out which one was Xander." Angel muttered as he dropped Spike back into Dawn's arms and moved to inspect the wounds on his legs. Distantly, Angel could hear the tiger growling at Xander.  
  
"Okay, if that was Xander, then who was the tiger?" Dawn wondered aloud. "Buffy?" She guessed hopefully.  
  
Angel shook his head. "No, Buffy wouldn't hurt Xander just to rescue Spike. It would have to be some one who would hate to see one of their friends get hurt. Anyway, I don't think Buffy would trying to stop Xander from eating Spike." Angel stopped. "That didn't sound right."  
  
"Then who would protect Spike and thinks of him as a friend other than me?" Dawn thought hard for a minute while Angel suddenly found inspecting his wounds very interesting. As usual, Angel knew more than he was letting on, but he wasn't going to let Dawn know that. Meanwhile, Dawn's eyes widened as a thought crossed her mind. "Orangish fur. Red hair. Oh my, God. It's Willow." Dawn smiled happily. "Now we know who half the animals are."  
  
"Dawn. We know who all the animals are now." Angel told her, as his brain possessed all the evidence. "Spike-Kitten" He stopped as he sniggered again, but stopped at Dawn's glare. "Willow-Tiger. Xander-Dog. Anya- Rabbit. Giles-Owl. Buffy-Panther."  
  
The teenager nodded slowly, then stopped as a new thought filtered through her mind. "Why would Willow want to practically attack her best friend just to save Spike? I mean, she could have hurt Xander."  
  
"I think I've seen this before." Angel said pointing to the animals as he tried unsuccessfully to distract Dawn.  
  
"Angel, you know something that I don't know, don't you?" Dawn smiled in success as Angel looked away again. "Angel, if you know something about Willow that'll help-"  
  
"It won't." Angel said roughly as he faced Dawn again. "I've seen this once before." He began again as he pointed towards the now awake animals. "It could only be reversed by the ones affected."  
  
Worry crossed Dawn's face at Angel's words and looked down at her watch, which read 8 pm. "All I have to say is, they better turn themselves back before-" She stopped as the door to the Magic Box opened. "Riley gets here."

* * *


	3. Reaction Time

Karma: Just a little warning: I don't like Riley very much, so he appears stupid in my stories. If you like Riley, I'm sorry, but maybe this isn't a good story for you. To those, who are staying, sorry this chapter took so long to get out... Please keep reading and reviewing and hopefully I'll get the next chapter out a lot faster.  
  
----------------------  
  
"Riley, what are you doing here?" Dawn asked the ex-commando nervously. She knew very well why he was in the shop. She was hoping to distract him from seeing the six animals who not even a few hours ago were people or close enough to people.  
  
Riley laughed at Dawn's nervousness. "Buffy told me to meet her here for patrol." He paused. "Where is she?" Before Dawn could respond, Riley noticed Angel. "What are you doing here?" He snarled more than asked the souled vampire.  
  
Dawn watched nervously as Angel opened his mouth to respond to Riley's question. Afraid of his response, Dawn responded for him. "Spike called him and asked him to come. Spike needed him here for some vampy thing." Dawn responded, lying like crazy, but ironically not knowing that she was actually telling Riley the truth.  
  
Trying hard not to show his surprise at Dawn's answer, Angel nodded slowly. "Spike may be annoying, but he's still family, and family means everything to me."  
  
"Right." Riley said, obviously not believing either one of them. "Where's Buffy?"  
  
"She's not here, why don't you leave and I'll have her call you." Dawn said quickly as she practically pushed Riley out the front door.   
  
"Dawn." Riley began in protest, but Dawn had already closed and locked the front door.  
  
Dawn sighed and sat down on the floor. "That was close. I'm just glad he was dumb enough to not notice the animals."  
  
"Wait, you mean he's always like that?" Angel asked dumbfounded.  
  
"Most of the time." Dawn said casually.  
  
"Why does she even date him?" Angel asked jealously.  
  
Dawn looked at the vampire. "Because you're not around any more."  
  
-----------------------  
  
"Xander, what in the hell were you thinking?" Tiger Willow growled at Xander.  
  
"It was just Spike. Why do you care so much about Captain Peroxide?" He growled back.  
  
"I just do!" Willow screamed at her best friend. Frustrated, she turned away and stalked off to make sure Spike was all right.  
  
Xander growled to himself and looked around at the other animals. Surprisingly enough, turning into an animal didn't bother him in the slightest. His eyes landed on a small bunny. 'Shit.' Shaking his head, he wandered over to the sleeping rabbit.  
  
"Ahn, honey, wake up." Xander begged nervously.  
  
Anya opened her eyes to white salivating teeth. "Don't eat me!" She shrieked as she jumped up.  
  
"Ahn, honey, relax. It's just me." Xander said in what he hoped what a soothing tone.  
  
"Please, I never cursed dogs. Don't eat me!" Anya begged.  
  
"Anya." Xander said in a somewhat annoyed tone.  
  
Finally, the voice registered with Anya. "Xander?" She asked in surprise. "You're a dog." She stated. Xander blinked, causing Anya to begin to feel nervous. "I'm not a dog am I?" Again, Xander closed his eyes. "What?" Anya asked anxiously.  
  
Quietly, Xander padded over to Anya's pants and with his teeth, pulled out a small compact. Anya watched half-amused as he padded back over to her and with his teeth opened the compact and set it before her. Anya's eyes widened as a bunny looked back at her.  
  
"Why am I looking at a bunny?" Anya asked jumpily.  
  
Xander closed his eyes. "Because you are a bunny."  
  
Anya's eyes widened and she began to hyperventilate. "Get it out of me! Or get me out of it! I don't want to be a bunny. Get it away! Far far away!"  
  
Xander opened his eyes and looked at his girlfriend. "Ahn, honey, we'll figure out how to undo this."  
  
"Willow did it. She's a witch. She can undo it. Where is she?" Anya looked around and her eyes widened even further when all she saw where animals. "All of us?" She breathed.  
  
"Not all of us." Xander amended. "Dead Boy and Dawn aren't animals."   
  
Anya nodded and looked over at the now awake Giles and Buffy.   
  
--------------------  
  
Buffy sighed happily and began to stretch the kink out of her back. It was the type of stretch you do when you wake up from a good dream. Well, it would have been that type of stretch if she was a human, but in her current state, it was the sort of stretch cats do when they wake up. However, Buffy wasn't aware at all of her current predicament. She was still in a dream-induced haze and as she stretched, she replayed the dream she had just had. It was an Angel dream. One she hadn't had since he left town. Suddenly, she slipped out of her daze as she saw Angel. Smiling, she began to pad over to him when she realized what she was doing. Crawling. And it also registered with her that she had been asleep on the ground of the Magic Box. She stopped mid-step and looked around the shop. Bunny. Dog. Kitten. Tiger. Owl. "Willow!" She yelled angrily. "What happened?"  
  
"I'm not sure." The tiger answered sheepishly.  
  
Buffy's eyes widened at the realization that Willow was the tiger, but her surprise couldn't override her anger. "What do you mean you're not sure?" She practically yelled.  
  
"Bloody 'ell, Slayer. Leave Red alone. It was an accident." The kitten said.  
  
Suddenly, uncontrollable laughter over took Buffy and she found herself on the floor. "Oh... my... God... Spike... You're... A... kitten..." She finally choked out.  
  
"You don't bloody well say." Spike replied darkly.  
  
Buffy, however, didn't respond. She was again over taken by the ironic humor of her favorite enemy being turned into a kitten- the very essence of innocence. As she laughed, she was well aware of kitten Spike's mumblings of: 'Bloody 'ell'; 'sodding bitch'; and 'when I get this chip out,' but then they where all replaced by Willow's constant murmurings of 'Calm down, baby.' But Buffy was too consumed by her laughter to even give this mutterings a second thought.  
  
"Are you quite done, now?" Giles asked after a few moments. Buffy stopped laughing and listened to her owl shaped watcher. "Although I'm sure we all find Spike's predicament-" He paused as he searched for the right word and tried to hide his own snicker. "amusing. We need to work together to find a way to turn ourselves back."  
  
"We could always use Peaches' idea." Spike said dryly. Suddenly Spike was aware of the fact that five pairs of animal eyes were now upon him. "What?" He asked looking around.  
  
"What are you talking about, Fangless?" Xander asked, still annoyed with the blonde.  
  
"The idea that Peaches has been explaining for the last five minutes." He explained exasperated.  
  
"Spike, he's not saying anything." Buffy said, finally understanding what a hundred years of Drusilla could do to some one.  
  
"You can't hear him?" Spike asked surprised. At four negative responses, he turned to face Willow. "Can you?"  
  
Willow nodded slowly. "A little bit, but it doesn't make much sense."  
  
They were completely unaware of the other four animals staring at them, until Spike began to argue aloud with something no one could hear. "Well, you could have bloody well told me!" He said exasperated. "You're making me look bleeding insane." He paused. "Very funny, mate." He was completely unaware of the spectacle he was making.  
  
"He's talking to Angel I think..." Willow said trying to vouch for Spike's sanity.  
  
"A sire/childe telepathic link. Interesting." Giles said fascinated.  
  
Suddenly, Spike's attention was with them once again. "Peaches says that we need to figure out why we were turned into the animals we were. Once we figure it out, we should be turned back." Everyone nodded except Buffy and Anya. "What?" He asked frustrated.  
  
"Don't call Angel that." Buffy told him.  
  
Spike shook his head, and looked at Anya. "Yes, demon girl?"  
  
"Why do you call him Peaches?" She asked anxiously.  
  
"Anya!" Xander interjected even though he too was interested.  
  
"Well, there was this time in Romania when-" Spike began only to be cut off by a growl from Willow and a flying bottle of holy water from Angel. 'I'll tell you later.' He mouthed to Anya who nodded hastily.  
  
"Shall we begin then?" Giles asked in a somewhat bored tone.  
  
"Yeah, Giles," Buffy said as she glared at Spike. "We're ready."  
  
"Very well then." Giles said relieved. "Who wants to start?"  
  
"Me." Anya said wanting very much to find herself far away from bunnies.  
  
---------------------  
  
TBC and hopefully much sooner than this chappie was. Sorry about that again... Inspire me! R&R please!  
Karma


	4. Anya

**Disclaimers: I own nothing. The scenes of human Anya are mostly from the episode Selfless, as is her name, Aud.

* * *

**  
Anya looked around as she felt five pairs of eyes staring at her. "What?" She snapped.  
  
"We're waiting on you, Demon Girl. Not all of us enjoy being animals, ya know." Spike drawled.  
  
"You're just mad because you're a kitten." Panther Buffy said with a smirk  
  
Before Spike could respond Giles began to flap his wings in a vain attempt to polish his nonexistent glasses. "That is quite enough." He said immediately causing everyone else to stop talking. "Now, Anya, why are you a rabbit?"  
  
"Because they scare me." Anya quickly said. "Okay, it's not working. Why isn't it working?!"  
  
"Ahn, honey." Xander began in a soothing voice. "Just calm down. Why are you afraid of rabbits?"

* * *

**  
--Flashback--  
  
_Sjornjost, 880_**  
  
Aud looked around her house. Around her were dozens of rabbits. Brown rabbits. Black rabbits. White rabbits. Spotted rabbits. Rabbits on tables. Rabbits on chairs. Rabbits on shelves. Rabbits on the floor. Even a rabbit on her shoulder. As she looked around, she realized how happy she was when surrounded by her rabbits.  
  
Other than her husband Olaf, whom she loved completely, her rabbits were her family. They were the only ones she could really talk to. No one in the village really liked her. She spoke her mind too frequently and was annoying to them. No one understood her literal interpretations and they thought her questions were irksome. But Olaf always said that was one of the reasons he loved her so much.  
  
She sighed and lifted the brown bunny off of her shoulder. Her thoughts drifted to Olaf as she set her favorite rabbit down on the floor. Her husband was her everything. She felt that he was one of the few people who actually understood her. Aud's love for him was so strong that she felt like she could burst. She didn't know what she would do if she lost him. He was too important to her, but he was also almost always gone.  
  
Olaf would constantly tell tales of battling trolls in the village. However, Aud was not stupid. She knew he was really at the bar. He would constantly talk of the bar matrons. Especially of Rannveig. Every one in the village knew that Rannveig would do nearly anything to take Aud's place in Olaf's life, but Aud wouldn't allow it. She hated Rannveig with a fiery passion.  
  
Every time Aud would mention her name Olaf would tell her: "I have no interest in this Rannveig. Her hips are large and load bearing, like a Baltic woman. Your hips are narrow, like a Baltic woman from a slightly more arid region. You are my perfect Aud. I could never want for another."

Every time Aud would believe him, but she could never help but feel cheated. She had no proof of course. She didn't want any proof. If she had proof that would mean Olaf really didn't love her and she wouldn't be able to live if that was the truth.  
**  
--End Flashback--

* * *

**  
  
"Ahn, honey." Xander said trying to get Anya's attention. "Are you okay?"  
  
She slowly nodded. "Yeah, Xander, I'm fine." She lied, but she found her mind wandering back to the 800's.

* * *

**--Flashback--  
  
_Sjornjost, 880  
  
Three weeks later._**  
  
Aud silently watched all of the destruction around her. The villagers were running away from a large troll. Aud couldn't help but watch. It wasn't something she particularly wanted to see, but she couldn't help but watch. She had done all this, or rather Olaf had.  
  
It had been two days ago. Aud had been down at the market peddling furs and giving away rabbits simply for goodwill, when she decided to come home early. The house hadn't seemed different at all. Rabbits everywhere. Olaf's fur cloak was thrown over a chair. It was as it usually was. Except for her fur. There had been another fur cloak near Olaf's. And Aud knew exactly whose it was.  
  
Angrily she stalked into their bedroom where she saw them. Rannveig and Olaf. Olaf and Rannveig. And her world fell apart around her. She hadn't known what to do, so she began mixing. Old spells she had heard mixed with half-finished potions and Eelsbane. Suddenly Olaf was the large troll the village had ever seen. An ugly giant with green skin and horns. And Aud still couldn't take her eyes off of him. Even after what he had done to her, part of her still loved him.  
  
"Impressive." A voice said causing her to turn around.  
  
"Thank you." She said softly.  
  
"What is that? A Woodlow Transmogriphic spell?" The stranger asked her, extremely curious.  
  
"Thornton's Hope." Aud corrected, somewhat pleased with herself. 

"Thornton's Hope. But how did you get the troll element?" He asked confused.  
  
"Eelsbane."  
  
"Eelsbane. Brilliant!" The stranger said liking her more and more.  
  
"Bar matron. A load bearing bar matron." Aud said bitterly.

"Is there any other kind?" He asked causing Aud to walk away. "I'm sorry. How rude of me. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is D'Hoffryn."

Aud stopped and turned around again to face him. "I am Aud."

"Are you? Hmm. I'm afraid you don't see your true self. You are Anyanka. I'm a patron of a family of sorts. We're vengeance demons. I'm sure you've heard of us." D'Hoffryn said as he began his usual sales pitch.

"No, I'm sorry."

"Oh, well, that's quite—" D'Hoffryn began, liking Aud more and more.

"Oh, no, don't feel bad. I, uh," She looked down at her feet. "I don't talk to people much. I mean, I talk to them, but they don't talk to me. Except to say that your questions are irksome, and perhaps you should take your furs and your literal interpretations to the other side of the river. "

"I get the sense that your talents are not fully appreciated here, Anyanka. We'd like you to join us." D'Hoffryn said, immediately wanting her as part of his "family."

"Why do you keep calling me that? My name is Aud." She insisted.

"Perhaps, but Anyanka is who you are."

A few hours later, the newly named Anyanka found herself looking around her old home. D'Hoffryn had told her that she could have one last look at her old life before he took on her new life of vengeance. She knew it was to say goodbye to her old life.  
  
She looked around at the rabbits who once filled her life with joy. They were once her life, but as looked around she realized that this was no longer her world. Vengeance was now her life, not her rabbits. She was no longer Aud. She was Anyanka. _'Anyanka doesn't like rabbits.' _She told herself. _'You are no longer Aud. You are a new you. You're no longer her.' _  
**  
--End Flashback--  
**

* * *

  
"I'm no longer her!" Anya suddenly shouted.  
  
"Anya?" Xander asked worriedly. "Honey, are you okay?"  
  
Bunny Anya nodded vigorously. "Yes, I'm fine."  
  
"Do you know why you where turned into a rabbit?" Giles asked her.  
  
Again she nodded. "Because I was afraid I'd turn into Aud again."  
  
Suddenly a bright light filled the room, and the bunny formally known as Anya was gone.  
  
"That was interesting." Giles remarked.  
  
"Wait." Buffy said cutting Giles off. "Who's Aud?"

* * *

Rabbit Anya transformed into herself in the center of the shop. "Oh thank God." Immediately she was aware of a gasp and a slap. She spun around to see Dawn and Angel standing near the front of the shop. Dawn had reached up and covered Angel's eyes with a hand. Instantly Anya looked down and realized that she was completely naked.  
  
"Oh, I don't care if he sees me." Anya said nonchalantly as she picked out her clothes from the pile.  
  
Dawn tightened her grip over Angel's eyes. "I'm sure you don't, but Buffy won't appreciate it."  
  
"Dawn." Angel complained. "Would you knock it off?" He asked as he tried to swat her hand away.  
  
"Uh huh." Dawn said as she slapped his hands away.  
  
Anya merely shrugged at the exchange. "I guess were even, huh? I told you 1824 would change up to you. I'll change in the back room." With that she left the teenager and the vampire alone with the animals.  
  
Dawn removed her hand. "What happened in 1824?"

* * *

**TBC

* * *

Leave a comment and tell me whose story you think should be next.  
  
Karma**


	5. Giles

**Karma:** Hi, y'll. Sorry about the extreme lateness of this chappie. School has been hell. But I finally updated. I actaully researched this chapter, too. All of the names used in the flashbacks are from _The Dark Age,_ which means, yes, you guessed it. Your voices have been heard and the popular choice has been chosen. Although I was quite surprised, but then again not so much...  
  
**Warnings:** Implied drug usage. There's like a teeny tiny amount of implied slash in this chapter, but no real actual slash, I think. Actually it reminds me of a lot of the banter between Angel and Spike in season 5 of _Angel_. So, if you were fine with _AtS_ season 5, you'll have no problem with this chappie. Just have to warn you, anyways. Just like I was supposed to tell y'll that _Angel_, _Buffy_ and all characters belonging to both shows actually belong to Mutant Enemy and Joss Whedon.

* * *

"Huh, Peaches was right." Spike said choosing to ignore Buffy's question.  
  
"Stop calling him that." Buffy scolded.  
  
"Sorry, Slutty, but I can call me sire anything I want to." He said, sounding anything but sorry.  
  
"Wait." Buffy said as a thought hit her. "I thought Drusilla was your sire."  
  
"No, Angelus was." Spike, Willow, Xander and Giles all said in unison.  
  
"Geez, okay." Buffy said, slightly annoyed. "So, Spike, why are you a kitten?"  
  
Spike looked nervously at Willow for a moment before turning his attentions back to Buffy. "Actually, I'd rather know why Rupes is an owl."  
  
"It's obvious." Xander said. "Owls are smart. Giles is smart. Giles is an owl. I wanna know why you're a kitten."  
  
"Are you sure that's why Giles is an owl?" Willow nervously interjected, having a pretty good feeling she knew why Spike was a kitten and not wanting every one to know yet.  
  
Buffy and Xander stared at her like she was insane while Spike sent her a silent, _'Thanks, love.'  
  
_Meanwhile, Giles had found himself becoming lost in his own thoughts. _'Why am I an owl?'  
_  
**

* * *

--London, 1976--**  
  
They seemed to follow him everywhere. The owls. Ripper would look up and they would be there. Watching him. Wait for him. Two of them. Always two. At first he thought it was his father keeping an eye on him, but then he'd take the needle out of his arm and all theories about his father would fly away.  
  
_'Snot like I give a sodding fuck about my father, anyways.' _Ripper mused as he finished off a bottle of whiskey. _'My father can go sod himself. He can be the sodding watcher. He can be the one who goes without sleep for three weeks because his slayer needs him to research a new demon. But I won't. Destiny is for bleeding idiots. Life is all about living in the now.'_  
  
He smiled as he looked around his rat infested flat in the worst part of town. Sure he shared the place with three other guys, but it was better than living the life his father had laid out for him.  
  
"My life." Ripper muttered as he began to sift through the rubbish on the floor. "Only mine. The bleeding owls can go sod themselves!" He yelled as he felt their familiar presence. As soon as he yelled, he heard the sound of hoots and wings flapping. He sighed. He really did hate those owls. They made him feel uncomfortable. "Doesn't mean a sodding thing. Not one thing." He reassured himself as he found the baggie of herbs on the floor. "Perfect."  
  
Just then the front door slammed open, and then slammed shut. "Oi! Ripper! You 'ere?" Ethan Rayne's familiar voice floated through the flat. "Ripper! Come out to play!"  
  
"I'm comin', Ethan!" Ripper called as he fought his way through the molding furniture and piles of rubbish.  
  
"There ya are, Ripper. Come on then, mate. We're late." He said with an impish grin.  
  
"Late for what?" Ripper asked as he pulled a fag out from behind his ear and lit it.  
  
"Randall has the itch." Ethan said simply as he took the fag out of Ripper's hand and took a drag.  
  
Ripper smiled as he took the fag out of Ethan's mouth. "Sounds like a party." He took a drag before handing it back to Ethan.  
  
"Come on, then." Ripper said impatiently as he threw his leather jacket on. "Let's go."  
  
Ethan smiled and wrapped an arm around Ripper's shoulder. "Tonight's gonna be a night we'll never forget."  
**  
--End Flashback--**

* * *

"Who do you think will poof next?" Dawn casually asked Angel.  
  
The vampire looked up from the game of poker he and Anya were playing, and at the teenage girl who was flipping through a fashion magazine. "Poof?" He questioned, used to hearing Cordelia use it as a term for dusting vampires.  
  
"Turn back into humans. Or vampire." Dawn clarified.  
  
Angel shrugged. "Not sure."  
  
"Mine." Anya suddenly declared as she began pulling the poker chips on the table towards her.  
  
"What?" Angel asked turning back towards the ex-vengeance demon.  
  
"My money. I win." Anya simply said as she began to put her chips into piles.  
  
"You cheated." Angel complained. "I was talking to Dawn."  
  
Anya shrugged. "When Xander and Spike taught me they said-"  
  
"Spike?" Angel interjected.  
  
Dawn nodded. "Yeah, Xander tried to teach me and Anya to play, but Spike was a better teacher."  
  
"He taught you to cheat?" Angel asked as he raised an eyebrow.  
  
Anya nodded. "Yes, it makes the game more fun. Let's play with real money."  
  
"No." Angel said as he pushed his cards away from him.  
  
Dawn stopped looking at her magazine and began to watch the animals again. "I hope it's Spike that turns back."  
  
"Dawn." Angel said looking at the girl.  
  
"What?" She innocently asked.  
  
Before Angel could respond, Anya looked up from the cards she was now shuffling. "I hope it's Rupert. He is quite shapely." Angel and Dawn shared matching looks of disgust, but Anya continued. "Although, Spike is very well-built, but he's too short. They say it effects sexual performance. Is it true?" She asked Angel.  
  
"Excuse me?" A shocked Angel coughed out.  
  
Dawn looked between Angel and Anya. "Huh? What? Oh... No?" She chocked out when she realized what Anya was talking about.  
  
"What? You're telling me that you and Spike never had sex?" A skeptical Anya asked.  
  
Angel looked sheepishly at Anya and Dawn. "Well... There was that one time..."  
  
"What?!"

* * *

**--London, 1976--**  
  
"What in the bloody hell was that?" Ripper asked Ethan as they stared at Randall's jerking body.  
  
"Whoa. Man. Total trip." A stoned Thomas said excitedly.  
  
"Randall? Mate? You cool?" Phillip asked Randall.  
  
Just as Phillip spoke, Randall's body stilled. "Baby?" Deirdre asked as she crawled over to her lover. "Baby?" She took him into her arms. "He's not breathing! Why isn't he breathing!" She shrieked.  
  
"Relax, Dee Dee. He's probably just sleeping."  
  
"You breathe when you sleep, Tommy!" She hysterically shouted. "Ripper, what do we do?"  
  
He stared at Deirdre and the body. Ripper couldn't speak. Couldn't move. All he could do was stare at the body of one of his best mates.  
  
"Ripper?" Philip tried.  
  
"Go home, Phil. Take Tommy with you." Ethan answered for Ripper. "You okay, mate?" He asked as he slipped an arm around Ripper's waist.  
  
Meanwhile, Ripper just stared at Deirdre as she clung helplessly to Randall's lifeless body. "Baby, wake up. This isn't funny any more. Wake up and everything will be fine. We'll go down to the diner and watch the lights flash. Then when that dink of a waitress who has the late shift tries to kick us out, we'll give 'er a tail. Just wake up." She begged. "If you love me you'll wake up." She began to cry as she rocked the body in her arms.  
  
The body. It seemed out to Ripper to think of Randall as merely a body. Randall was the first person he had met in London. Well, at least in this part of London. He was one of his best mates. He was the one who introduced him to Ethan. Was. The past tense burned in the back of Ripper's throat.  
  
"Cheer up, mate." Ethan cheerfully said as he spoke softly and directly into Ripper's ear. "It was all in the name of a good time. That's all tha matters."  
  
Ripper suddenly wrenched Ethan's arm off of his waist. "How can you just take Randall's death so easily?" He yelled as he looked around the room, immediately realizing that Thomas and Phillip had already fled. He looked down at the tattoo on his forearm before stumbling backwards. "Gotta get outta 'ere."  
  
"Ripper, wait." Ethan said as he reached for Ripper's arm.  
  
"No!" Ripper shouted as he slapped Ethan's arm away and punched him in the face. "You stupid prat."  
  
Ethan stared after Ripper as he fled into the rain-covered night. "No." He muttered softly. "Don't leave me."  
  
Ripper blindly ran through the rain in a rage. He couldn't think. He wouldn't think. He knew that as soon as he began to think, his mind would wander back to Randall's body. As long as he kept running he was safe. Eventually however, he lost all strength and began to wander aimlessly, not caring what happened to him.  
  
As he walked he became aware of the familiar presence of the owls. He spun around. "What do you want?! Do you want me to go back to him? Do you want me to go back to my father! Quit following me and tell me what in the sodding hell you want!" He looked down the street half expecting some one from the Council to appear.  
  
"Fine! You win! I'll call him tonight! Just leave me alone!" Ripper shouted before turning and walking in the direction of his flat.  
  
Suddenly the owls disappeared and transformed into Ethan Rayne. "G'bye Ripper." He whispered into the rain. "G'bye."  
  
**--End Flashback--**

* * *

"Bloody hell!" Giles suddenly shouted as the memories hit him.  
  
"Did Giles just say bloody hell? Oh my God. He's turning into Spike." Buffy muttered.  
  
Giles ignored his slayer. "The owls. Ethan. How could I have not remembered?"  
  
"The owls? Ethan?" Xander repeated. "I think my theory was a little off."  
  
"You think, whelp?" Spike muttered earning himself a growl from Willow.  
  
"They stopped following me after that night. Ethan." Giles rambled, completely unaware of the other animals. Suddenly there was a flash and Giles the owl was gone.  
  
"Poor Angel and the bit..." Spike muttered.  
  
"What?" Willow asked. "Oh." She added as she realized what Spike meant. "Spike." She whined.  
  
"Hey, some one had to say it, dinnit they, love?"

* * *

"Okay, that was- Oh. My. God. EW!" Dawn cried covering her eyes.  
  
"Dawnie, what are you- Sweet Mary and Joseph!" Angel cried as he covered his own eyes.  
  
"What?" Anya asked as she looked where Dawn and Angel had looked. "Hmm... Very shapely."  
  
A very naked Rupert Giles looked at the trio before blushing and quickly grabbing his clothes. "I'll just... Right then..." He said embarrassedly before practically running into the backroom.  
  
"Hmm... Rupert-" Anya began but was cut off by Dawn.  
  
"Do not say what ever you we're gonna say about Giles. It's Giles!" Dawn said before shuddering.  
  
"I was only going to-"  
  
"Anya!"

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**YAY! My belated update has arrived! Please review and tell me whatcha think. Questions, comments whatever, but keep your flames to yourself. Remember to vote for who you wanna see morph next, because, your wish? My command.  
Karma.**


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